The best remedy for the slumping Stratford Warriors is a game against the Elmira Sugar Kings.

In the midst of their longest slump this season, the Warriors hardly resembled a team that had lost six of eight games prior to Friday’s 7-1 victory over their Woolwich Township rival.

Stratford improved to 5-0 against a Sugar Kings’ squad that was trying to pull even with the Warriors in the Midwestern Conference standings.

“I think the guys stayed positive, and any time we made a mistake we adjusted really quickly,” Warriors forward Corson Searles said. “I think that’s going to be everything going forward rolling into playoff time.”

Searles had a goal and assist in his return to Stratford after spending the season with Navan in the Central Canada Hockey League.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” he said. “It’s so fun – the atmosphere, the team, the coaches, everything is just awesome here.

“You never plan (coming back). I try not to think too far ahead with that stuff, but I’m happy where I’m at and I’m just going to live in the moment right now.”

The Warriors had dropped three of four at home but looked energized from the start of Friday’s game in front of 1,257 at the Allman Arena. Stratford led 3-0 after two periods and held Elmira to nine shots over that time before breaking things open in the third.

“Staying consistent with the pressure and forcing them to make mistakes is always going to lead to good things eventually if you continue to do that and stick to the game plan,” Searles said. “We could have had a couple more at the beginning, but it was good that we kept rolling. We stuck with it, and it paid off as the game went on.”

Nathan Smilski and Nick Jung also had a goal and assist in the win. Drew Welsch scored and added two assists, while Zackary Johnson, Kam Shearer and Dylan Lebold had single markers. Lebold’s tally 2:53 into the game was his fourth of the season and snapped a 15-game scoreless drought.

Karson Massey scored for Elmira, which was playing its first game since head coach Trent Brown was fired earlier in the week. Brown joined the Sugar Kings’ staff in 2013 and won a Sutherland Cup in 2016-17. He took over as head coach the following season.

“I’m obviously disappointed and frustrated,” he told the Woolwich Observer. “The Elmira Sugar Kings were a very big part of my life. I played there and met my wife when I was playing there, and was fortunate enough to be on some good teams. And I took a lot of pride being a part of that organization. Nothing but good things to say about everything in that organization.”

Assistant Rob Collins takes over as head coach.

“It’s always really hard firing a coach, but I think especially for me,” director of hockey operations Jeff Snyder said. “Trent’s a friend of mine and has been a good friend of mine for four years – we’ve been working here in Elmira together. We just felt our team wasn’t progressing in the direction that we needed it to be, and we felt we had no other choice but to make a change to try and get our team playing a little better.”

NOTES: Thirteen Warriors had at least one point … Warriors goalie Zack Weir made 20 saves. Elmira netminder Mat Woroniuk stopped 25 shots … Stratford defenceman Tyson Kielt received a game misconduct in the third period after his second head check penalty … The Warriors went 2-for-13 on the power play and also scored while shorthanded. Elmira went 0-for-8 with the man advantage … Next: Stratford visits first-place Waterloo Sunday afternoon.